A Texas police detective was arrested last month after a co-worker said the officer kicked him in the back, according to an affidavit.
Lawrence Michael Jonap, 45, was charged with assault by causing bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor that carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.
Jonap’s co-worker, a communications operator, said he was making coffee at the Lago Vista Police Department and talking to an officer on Dec. 10 when he was kicked in the back, causing his body to “lunge forward,” according to the affidavit. When he turned around, he saw Jonap standing behind him and laughing, the affidavit says.
The next day, the document says, Jonap hit the communications operator on the head with a notebook, flicked his ear and then farted in his face.
A reserve officer told a Travis County sheriff’s deputy that she saw Jonap “tap ” the other operator with a folder and then later shake his chair, saying, “How’s your back?” before grabbing his hat and throwing it on a desk.
The reserve officer also told the deputy she saw Jonap “pass gas” in front of the other operator’s face.
Jonap admitted to the deputy that he had physical contact with the operator, according to the affidavit, but he said he just “nudged” him with his foot.
According to court documents, Jonap has worked for the Lago Vista Police Department for 14 years.
Police department officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
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